Biden pledges to prioritise immigration reform in meeting with Latinos

US President Joe Biden underlined his commitment to push for short-term immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants by including it in a spending bill that Democrats want to pass without Republican votes.

Biden hosted a dozen Latino leaders at the White House, with whom he discussed everything from immigration to the economy to the climate crisis in a bid to improve his relationship with Hispanics, who voted for him in a smaller-than-expected proportion in the 2020 election.

During the meeting, which lasted more than an hour and a half and was also attended by Vice President Kamala Harris, the president "expressed his support for immigration reform through the reconciliation process" being pushed by Democrats in Congress, the White House said in a statement.

This process involves including a solution for undocumented immigrants in the 3.5 trillion dollar social spending package that the Democrats - Biden's party - are pushing in Congress, and which they want to approve through a mechanism known as reconciliation, which would allow them to dispense with Republican votes.

The Democrats' proposal would open a pathway to citizenship for "dreamers", young people who came to the country as children, as well as millions of undocumented people who have been deemed essential workers during the pandemic and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients. 

"They (Biden and Harris) have doubled down on their commitment to get a pathway to citizenship for millions of people during the reconciliation process," said one of the meeting's attendees, Lorella Praeli, co-chair of the organisation Community Change Action.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Praeli said Biden understands that, at this point, "there is no bipartisan path" to pass immigration reform, and Democrats have to go it alone.

"We have to make sure we legalise millions of people this year," added the activist, who was born in Peru, came to the US as an undocumented immigrant and became a US citizen a few years ago.

The Democratic majority in the House wants to pass the $3.5 trillion package that includes the immigration measures once Congress gives the green light to a separate trillion-dollar infrastructure investment plan, which the Senate is expected to endorse this week.

However, some progressive lawmakers in the lower house want the two bills to move simultaneously, which could complicate the passage picture.

Although the Latino leaders who went to the White House on Tuesday celebrated Biden's position on immigration reform, they also criticised at least one of his policies on the border with Mexico.

This is the so-called Title 42, a measure that Biden's administration extended indefinitely and which, under cover of the pandemic, allows for the immediate expulsion of the majority of undocumented immigrants who arrive at the border, who cannot apply for asylum.

"We continue to make it clear to the president and the vice president that we do not support Title 42, and that it is essential that the government continues to undo the policies (promoted by former president Donald) Trump," Jess Morales Rocketto, of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, said after the meeting.

Morales Rocketto, who is also linked to the organisation "Families Belong Together", stressed the need for US policies on the border to be "safe, humane and respectful of each and every migrant". 

In general, however, those attending the meeting were satisfied and avoided criticising Biden, whom they thanked for listening to their ideas after four years in which, with Trump in power, many of their organisations did not have access to the White House.

"A new day has begun, and we are happy to work with this administration on important policies for our community," said Nathalie Rayes, president of the independent Democratic group Latino Victory.

That message was just what Biden wanted to hear, whose team has multiplied contacts with Hispanics in part to strengthen the alliance in time before the 2022 congressional elections, in which he hopes Democrats will improve their performance among Latinos.

Although Biden won among Hispanics by a margin of nearly 20 points over Trump in the November election, the former president won the backing of 38% of Latino voters, up from 28% who supported him in 2016, according to the Pew Research Center.

That increase worries the White House, which has set out to increase its contacts with Latino leaders in an attempt to make them feel involved in its policies well before the 2022 elections, the daily Politico reported on Tuesday.

During Tuesday's meeting, Biden spoke not only about immigration, but also about the economy, the attempts by several Republican states to restrict the right of minorities to vote and the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Latino leaders have been instrumental in helping to get this country vaccinated," he told reporters at the start of the meeting.

The meeting was also intended to commemorate the second anniversary of the El Paso (Texas) shooting, which left 23 dead and was the worst massacre of Hispanics in recent US history. 

"The most lethal terrorist threat to our homeland in recent years has been domestic terrorism based on white supremacism. We are going to have to unite against this violence," the president stressed.